Dr Anna Sanders
Lecturer

Profile

Biography

Anna joined the University of York in 2022 as Lecturer in British Politics. Her research is interested in bringing together the areas of gender, elections and public policy. She is particularly interested in the gendered impacts of policies, and how they influence differences in the ways that men and women vote.

Before joining the University of York, Anna was based as Research Associate at the University of Manchester where she worked on an ESRC Productivity Institute funded project, 'The UK-Productivity Governance Puzzle: Are UK's Governing Institutions Fit for Purpose in the 21st Century?’.

Anna holds a PhD from the University of Manchester (2020), which in 2021 was awarded the Political Studies Association’s McDougall Trust Prize for best thesis in the field of elections, electoral systems and representation. Previously, she held a visiting position at Purdue Policy Research Institute in Indiana, and research positions in local government and Parliament. Anna holds an MA in Political Science from the University of Manchester (2016) and a BA in Politics from Queen Mary, University of London (2015).

Research

Overview

Anna’s research explores the areas of gender, elections and public policy. She has published on these themes in British Politics, the British Journal of Politics and International Relations, the Journal of Women, Politics and Policy, and the Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties. Her research uses a mix of quantitative and qualitative approaches.

Anna’s main research interests are twofold. Her primary research interests concern gender and voting behaviour in Britain. She is currently Co-I on an ESRC IAA-funded project, ‘Surveying Women in Greater Manchester: Political Engagement, Preferences and Behaviour’. Collaborating with GM4Women2028 – a women’s charity in Greater Manchester – the project aims to generate regionally-disaggregated data on women’s attitudes and preferences so that they can be better represented in local policy decisions.

Anna’s secondary research interests relate to UK governance and productivity. She is currently working on a project with The Productivity Institute examining the implementation of spatial inequality policies in Britain over the last 40 years.

Supervision

PhD Supervision:

• Andrew Allen - The influence of environmental eNGOs in shaping UK public policy on nature conservation
• Alex Woodward - Is there any connection between engagement and trust in national politics and combined authorities? [N.B. working title]

Dr Anna Sanders welcomes PhD applications in the following areas:

• Gender and politics
• Elections
• Political behaviour
• British politics
• Mixed methods
• Local government
• Public policy

Publications

Selected publications

• Sanders, A. (2022), ‘The impact of gendered policies on women’s voting behavior: Evidence from the 2015 British General Election’, Journal of Women, Politics and Policy. [Online first].
• Sanders, A, Gains, F. and Annesley, C. (2021), ‘What’s on offer? How parties appeal to women in manifestos’, Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties, 31(4): 508-527.
• Sanders, A. and Shorrocks, R. (2019), ‘All in this together?: Gender, age and austerity in the 2015 and 2017 in British General Elections’, British Journal of Politics and International Relations 24(4): 667-688.
• Sanders, A., Annesley, C. and Gains, F. (2019), ‘What did the coalition government do for women? An analysis of gender equality policy agendas in the UK 2010-2015’, British Politics, 14: 162-180.

Teaching

Undergraduate

• Politics in the United Kingdom
• Introduction to Democratic Politics

Postgraduate